The Programmer Cultivator

If this change had happened right after the fifth person came in, they might have all assumed there were only five spots, that only five people could enter.

After all, there had only been five Entry Orders when they arrived.

However, this change only occurred a quarter of an hour after the fifth person arrived, so the implication was clear.

Once the chairs finished transforming, a light shield rose from the tabletop, enclosing the round table. Then, the center of the table abruptly ejected several spheres of light.

The spheres of light were slightly larger than a fist, each containing something within.

POP... POP...

After ejecting five spheres in a row, the activity in the center ceased.

The fifth sphere wasn’t ejected as smoothly. It appeared with great hesitation, as if the array’s logic system was confused or uncertain.

Once their ejection was complete, the five spheres of light floated above the table. They began to rapidly orbit the center, their circular path slowly expanding as they moved toward the five individuals.

Initially at the center, perhaps because their orbit was very small, the five spheres of light spun extremely fast.

The five could only vaguely make out that there was something inside, but they couldn’t see clearly what it was.

But by the time they reached the halfway point of the table’s radius, their rotation had slowed considerably, and the contents of the five spheres became clear.

"Sword Grass!!!"

Upon seeing the items clearly, Li Shifan was the first to cry out. He had recognized the contents of one of the spheres at a single glance.

Zhang Deming saw it then, too. It was a rather ordinary-looking small blade of grass, swaying gently in the sphere of light.

The only thing that wasn’t ordinary was the sharp aura it emitted, which faintly intertwined with Li Shifan’s own.

"Two-Tailed Demon Fox Bloodline?!!!"

Sha Xingping, one of the two who had arrived first and unscathed, now also spoke with pleasant surprise.

His eyes were also fixed on a sphere of light, inside which was a swirling, blood-like liquid.

A phantom figure of a Two-Tailed Demon Fox swam nimbly within the sphere. As it moved, the blood flowed continuously, appearing full of Spirituality.

Clearly, whoever extracted this Two-Tailed Demon Fox’s Bloodline was an absolute professional.

They had clearly extracted this Bloodline almost perfectly, preserving its maximum Spirituality.

’Hmm?’

’This is...?’

’Fetal Jade?’

At this moment, Zhang Deming also saw the contents of one of the spheres.

It was a pinkish-white jade stone in the shape of a fetus. It seemed to be alive, as if it were developing inside a womb.

’It really is Fetal Jade!’

Like the Yin Yang Rejuvenation Crystal in his pocket, the Fetal Jade was a top-tier main material for advancement. In fact, for the Summoning Class, it was the absolute highest-grade main ingredient for advancement.

Every category had a few top-tier main materials. Not only were they universally applicable, but they could even replace all other main materials.

And by all, it meant *all*. With this one ingredient, any other main ingredients in a formula became optional. Of course, supplementary materials were still required.

Because it was a top-tier, universal material for the entire Summoning Category, Fetal Jade was incredibly difficult to obtain within the Sect. It was certainly unobtainable in the Outer Sect.

Few people would ever trade it for mere Contribution Points. If they couldn’t use it themselves, they would trade it for other items, building valuable connections in the process.

This was especially true for someone like Zhang Deming. He didn’t have a formula for his Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique and had been planning to modify the most similar formula he could find—one for Demon Spirit Summoning—to attempt his advancement.

He had no idea if that would even succeed. But with the Fetal Jade, the formula itself would no longer be an issue. After all, Fetal Jade was suitable for *any* Summoning advancement!

Zhang Deming quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart, trying his best not to let his emotions show, while simultaneously starting to observe his surroundings.

Zhang Deming turned his head to look at the two remaining spheres. One contained a materialized stream of light composed of a chaotic jumble of Runes.

Such a distinctive item was the easiest to recognize: Talismanic Streamlight, the top-tier main material for advancement in the Array Dao.

As for the other, Zhang Deming’s knowledge was insufficient to recognize it.

Inside the sphere of light seemed to be a mass of black smoke. The smoke churned constantly, sometimes condensing into various animals, and other times changing into monsters of all different shapes.

This was the contents of the last sphere—the one that had been ejected so reluctantly, with such hesitation.

Zhang Deming looked at the one with the severed hand. At this moment, that person was staring intently at this sphere of smoke.

The glint in those eyes made Zhang Deming pause slightly, his own eyes narrowing.

’Hmm?’

’Heh! Seriously injured?’

"Sword Grass, Fetal Jade, Talismanic Streamlight, Two-Tailed Demon Fox Bloodline, and even a Wandering Soul Mist... they’re all top-tier main materials for advancement."

"It looks like they were tailor-made for us."

"In other words, the five of us are a Sword Cultivator, a Summoner, an Array Cultivator, a Bloodline Transformation Cultivator, and a Strange Ability Skill Wraith, correct?"

Xue Su’s gaze shifted from the five spheres of light to the four other people around the table, their eyes burning with greed.

Seeing that the other four didn’t speak, he continued, "Heh, these rewards are really thoughtful, aren’t they? Custom-made, even!"

"So, should we each take our own, or should we... discuss things a bit?"

When Xue Su finished speaking, everyone turned in unison to look at Qu Hua, the man with the severed hand, who was warily watching the other four.

It was obvious that the rewards corresponded to each of them. No one here was a fool. Everyone knew what he meant by "discussing"—or rather, *who* he meant.

Zhang Deming pondered for a moment. ’To be able to offer such extravagant, tailor-made, top-tier advancement materials... this could only be an ancient ruin.’ The rewards for passing this assessment were far more generous than those from the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Inner Sect Trial.